10:57 GMT
Alice Cuddy
Senior international reporter
Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands and the site of a highly secretive UK-US military base, is one of the most restricted locations in the world.
There are no commercial flights and getting there by sea is no easier – permits for boats are only granted for the archipelago’s outer islands and to allow safe passage through the Indian Ocean.
To enter the island you need a permit, only granted to people with connections to the military facility or the British authority that runs the territory. Journalists have historically been barred.
In September 2024, I gained unprecedented access to the island, though I was placed under stringent restrictions.
The island has startling natural beauty, from lush vegetation to pristine white beaches.
While the territory is administered from London, most personnel and resources there are under the control of the US.
Pulling on to the runway alongside grey military aircraft, a sign on a hangar greets you: “Diego Garcia. Footprint of Freedom,” above images of the US and British flags.
Throughout the island, US and UK influences jostle for predominance.
There are British police cars, a nightclub called the Brit Club, and roads with names like Britannia Way and Churchill Road.
But cars drive on the right, as they do in the US, the US dollar is the accepted currency and the electricity sockets are American.
The most sensitive military areas are strictly out of bounds.
Image source, Getty Images